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Wednesday, May 19, 2010

On Top of the World!

March continued to be a whirlwind of a busy month. I did a stint at our neighborhood elementary school as Artist in Residence(that sounds so impressive, huh?) for a week. I used to spend a lot of time there, when Gretchen was younger....was a room mother, party planner, art literacy teacher, etc.....but haven't been back much in the last 6 years, except to visit Chris and other teachers occasionally. It was really fun being back in those familiar halls, but especially fun to be in two very wonderful classrooms full of eager, terrific third grade kids. Chris instigated my involvement in the program, and I'm glad she did.

I've been focusing on collage lately, when I'm not making soldered charms, or doing my "day job" of illustration and graphic design. So that seemed like a perfect direction to take with the third graders. A recurring theme in my own collage-work has been a figure seated on a globe....

collage created for a school auction a couple years ago

"Uncle Marvin", licensed for use by a tote bag company

We took black&white photos of each child sitting on a stool, then cut out their image, trimming away the stool and entire background. Each child created a textured, collaged background in a color theme of their choice. They searched for letters to spell out their names and the word "world", as well as images of things that helped define who they are. They placed themselves on the globe, added bits of color to their photos, positioned the title letters, and glued their masterpieces together with much care and cleverness. After diligently working through many steps, using lots of glue sticks, and finishing just in time for Mother's Day, about 60 kids took home wonderful pieces of art they should be so proud of:

Obviously, I couldn't pick just one to feature here....this is just a small sampling of the kids' great work. There were so many more that just melted my heart. It was a really wonderful week for me and I was on top of the world!

maggie raguse (mag rag!) portland, oregon

Welcome to my blog! I've had a long career as a fashion illustrator and designer in the textile/sewing industry (too many years to admit!), and I also host workshops called "Collage College" here in my home studio, where we make soldered jewelry and other crafts. I'm a true MAGPIE, always ready to "hunt for treasure" at flea markets and thrift shops. Sometimes it feels like all the shiny baubles and crusty old books are taking over my life...but they are irresistible!!

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